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"Gone Girl" Narcissist Sherri Papini's Interrogation — Transcript

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0:00We're about to take a journey back in
0:01time to talk about a dark and truly
0:03appalling story. A bigger than Hollywood
0:06tale full of cheating, deceit, fraud,
0:09and kidnapping.
0:11Our story begins on November 2nd, 2016,
0:15when a 34-year-old woman named Sherri
0:17Papini disappeared while out jogging a
0:19mile from her home in Redding,
0:20California.
0:22She reappeared 3 weeks later on
0:23Thanksgiving Day, November 24th, having
0:26been reportedly freed by her captors at
0:284:30 that morning, still wearing
0:30restraints on the side of County Road 17
0:33near Interstate 5 in Yolo County, about
0:36150 miles south of where she had
0:37disappeared.
0:39The case garnered major media attention
0:41with national law enforcement experts
0:43reporting doubts or otherwise baffled as
0:45to the unlikely details and
0:47inconsistencies of the reported
0:48abduction. Sherri's husband, Keith
0:51Papini, first became concerned when he
0:53returned from his job at Best Buy on
0:55November 2nd, 2016, and could not find
0:58his wife at home. He eventually used the
1:00Find My iPhone application to locate her
1:02cell phone and earbuds at the
1:04intersection of Sunrise Drive and Old
1:06Oregon Trail, about a mile from their
1:08home.
1:09According to Shasta County Sheriff Tom
1:11Bosenko, Papini said she was held by two
1:13Hispanic women who took steps to keep
1:16their faces hidden from her, either by
1:17wearing a mask or by keeping Papini's
1:20head covered and her arms restrained.
1:22Sherri showed signs that she was
1:24physically abused during her captivity.
1:26Her nose was broken and her hair cut
1:28off, was branded with red-hot metal on
1:30her right shoulder, and weighed only 87
1:33lb when she was released. At the time,
1:35the sheriff said it was still an active
1:37investigation, and authorities were,
1:38quote, looking for a dark-colored SUV
1:41with two Hispanic females armed with a
1:43handgun.
1:44The sheriff indicated that there was
1:46sensitive information not being released
1:48at that time. However, detectives had
1:50authored close to 20 search warrants,
1:52and they said that they were examining
1:53cell phone records, bank accounts,
1:55email, and social media profiles.
1:58Investigators declined to discuss what
2:00prompted them to file the search
2:02warrants or why detectives had traveled
2:04out of state. Authorities also declined
2:07to comment on the specific details of
2:08the ongoing investigation, but reported
2:11that they were actively pursuing the
2:12case. In November, while Papini was
2:15still missing, authorities executed more
2:17than 12 search warrants in Michigan with
2:19the FBI now providing assistance. Sherri
2:22was found with both male and female DNA
2:24on her, neither of which matched her or
2:27her husband. The FBI ran the samples
2:29through the Combined DNA Index System,
2:32also known as CODIS, and found no
2:34matches at the time. However, roughly 4
2:37years later, Sherri was brought back in
2:39for more questioning about her case.
2:41It was here that it was revealed that
2:43they had discovered some incredibly
2:45important information relevant to her
2:46case, such as a DNA match, and it was
2:49here that the truth about her
2:50disappearance started to see the light
2:52of day.
2:54This is the interrogation of Sherri
2:56Papini.
3:19Incredibly long road. Yeah. Um but some
3:22stuff's come up, so over
3:25we've always had the the DNA out there
3:27in the world. Um sorry, I'm going to
3:29pull you too far. Absolutely, just like
3:31always.
3:32Thank you for coming. We appreciate you
3:34taking the time to come talk to us. As
3:36always,
3:37your presence here is voluntary.
3:39Yeah. Um you can go at any time.
3:42And uh
3:43all we want is truthful statements
3:44because it's a a crime to lie to federal
3:47officers. Oh, yeah. I'm all set.
3:50Yeah.
3:50So, pretty well apart.
3:52So, um
3:54So, there's always been DNA out there,
3:56um and we we've done testing after
3:58testing. We've gone out to like the
4:01Parabon, which is a private company that
4:03does all like the
4:05the genetics, and we've just hit wall
4:07after wall after wall. Um but recently,
4:10um we found some a familial DNA hit. So,
4:13what that does, it it just tells us it
4:15came from a certain person. So, um like
4:18the mother or the father or a a son or
4:21an uncle or however that is, it just
4:23hits that like somewhere in this family
4:24tree Mhm. um is where the DNA comes
4:27from. As the interview begins, the
4:29detective lets both Keith and Sherri
4:31know that there has been a familial DNA
4:33match. Familial DNA searches simply
4:36identify potential relatives of an
4:38alleged perpetrator. A familial DNA
4:40search result is only a lead that is
4:42then followed up and investigated until
4:44a DNA sample of the suspect is obtained
4:47and tested. In short, they know what
4:49family the DNA came from, and standard
4:52investigation tactics can and will help
4:54them narrow down the list of potential
4:56suspects. Also, it may seem odd that
4:59Keith, Sherri's husband, is here in the
5:01room for this interrogation, but as
5:03investigators will soon mention, Keith
5:05has been a part of this investigation
5:06from the beginning. His presence isn't
5:08an oversight, but rather a calculated
5:11move that will later be used to
5:13manipulate Sherri. Okay. So, with that,
5:15we open up the investigation. We go into
5:19who could it be um
5:22within the family. Um so, once we
5:24started opening up those doors and
5:26looking through those the family members
5:28and just trying to see Facebook stalking
5:31them,
5:32um criminal histories,
5:34um just that normal investigation that
5:36we do once we start looking into things,
5:38we started finding some interesting
5:40things. Okay. Um so, one of the things
5:42that came out to us,
5:44I don't know if you Is there anything in
5:46there that looks
5:48of interest or notable? Interest or
5:53And that's an awkward photo. Yeah.
5:56You know?
6:03So, the table there or the picture's a
6:04little grained out. So,
6:06There's I mean,
6:08to me, I see a
6:10table there that somewhat looks like
6:12something you described to me in the
6:13past, and then I see wood paneling.
6:16You talking about the room?
6:18Yeah, we noted both of those things back
6:20in August of 2017.
6:22That's when we spoke with you about, and
6:24you showed us this picture of the table.
6:26Mhm. Do you remember that, Sherri?
6:28Yes, I do remember. And so, when we were
6:31trawling through this, you know,
6:32Facebook page, he saw just the edge of
6:34that table. Yeah. Denise got it. Yeah.
6:37Oh, cool. Denise said, "Hey, Peter,
6:39look at this Look at this table." And I
6:41was like, "Oh, wait, you're right."
6:43Yeah. And it has the wood paneling. Mhm.
6:45So, we're like, "Well, well, where was
6:46that photo taken, right?" And so, we're
6:48trying to figure that out.
6:50So,
6:51okay. Um so, that's led us obviously now
6:54down to the
6:56obviously this Facebook page has a
6:57person that's got like people tagged
6:59into it, so it has um so, Peter has a
7:03But that's still The detective mentions
7:05that names were tagged in a Facebook
7:07photo, and he's interrupted by the FBI
7:09agent. The agent wants Sherri to verify
7:12that the memory is still valid before
7:13they say any names. This serves a
7:15specific purpose.
7:17Sherri will back up her claim by
7:19reiterating it and re-verify that it is
7:21true, so any changes to the story will
7:23be increasingly glaring in the future.
7:25Like that's still a valid memory, right?
7:27Is that this was the table? Yeah.
7:30A table like this was the table you were
7:31on when you were branded? And we've been
7:33talking about that a lot because so many
7:35memories are so faded now. It's been a
7:38long time.
7:39It's been a really long time. So, like
7:42details and things like that. We did the
7:44best that we could to take notes on it
7:46and all of that, but a lot of it's
7:49really hard. Sure. It's hard to think
7:51about. Mhm. Yeah.
7:54Um
7:55So, yeah, now I see both of those from
7:57what she told me.
7:59Okay.
8:00That was an interesting With that, we
8:02started looking at different people and
8:03who might be involved and just trying to
8:05figure it out.
8:07And I wanted to show you this picture.
8:10And obviously,
8:12um
8:14people can change their weight. People
8:16can change the color of their hair.
8:18Don't
8:19um just because the photo might be a
8:22little bit different, as you know, women
8:23like to change their hair and
8:26their makeup. Their their weight can
8:28change. So, that that might be a little
8:30bit different, but we wanted to take a
8:31look at this uh six-pack and see if you
8:33recognize anybody in these six photos.
8:35A six-pack is a lineup of six people,
8:37which may or may not include a suspect
8:39or potential suspect. This is a very
8:42common strategy that law enforcement
8:44will use to see if a suspect can be
8:46identified visually.
8:48Um you don't feel like you have to
8:49provide an answer. There's no right or
8:51wrong answer. Just let us know if you
8:53see anybody in this photo that you do
8:54recognize, and if you do, we'll talk
8:56about how. Okay. Okay.
9:07Keith, if you could just wait back there
9:09and not say anything, that way we don't
9:10influence.
9:20I don't think so.
9:26So, nobody jumps out?
9:30I mean, this one a little bit, but
9:33You say this one a little bit, which
9:35number is it?
9:35Number three.
9:41And when you're ready, I'll show you the
9:42Nothing's really like
9:45There's nothing in there that says, "Oh,
9:47yeah, that's it." No. Okay.
9:52It's like how people are given haircuts.
10:02That's a pleasant group of people.
10:07And again, Keith, if you just look at
10:09them.
10:26Do you have a tissue on you?
10:36It's hard because the other photos are
10:38distracting me. Can you give me another
10:39piece of paper, if you don't mind?
10:41Another piece? Yeah, I'm going to cover
10:43Yes.
10:46I want to look at them when they're
10:47lined up together. Sure. It's easier.
10:53They're a little distracting.
10:55There we go.
10:57Thank you.
11:18She's got that that puffy under those
11:20eyes, but
11:22I don't know.
11:26This is really hard.
11:29Take your time.
11:36I mean, for her, like if it's even
11:38close, it's worth telling you guys,
11:39obviously, to look at it, right? Well,
11:41no, it shouldn't. Does it need it?
11:42Obviously, we know they're masked. We
11:44know there's already photos to come
11:45about.
11:48It's just another tool, another way to
11:50It's just another And obviously, cuz you
11:52don't know the people. If you knew the
11:53people, then you'd show pictures, but
11:58I'm going to try not to look at this
11:59one. This is a little harder.
12:02Yeah, it's I don't know. For some
12:04reason, it
12:05makes it harder when you're looking at
12:06like a crowd of
12:13Like Peter said, different
12:16color hair and dyes and all that kind of
12:18stuff. I know.
12:19Just
12:22Like I'm trying not to get my hopes up.
12:31I know.
12:34I would say right right here is what's
12:36drawing me to this photo. So, on photo
12:39number five, this is This is the
12:42This is the first one we showed you.
12:44The second one we showed you.
12:46So, on
12:47six-pack number two,
12:50But, like you were saying, if someone
12:51were to lose weight, that would change.
12:53You're drawn to photo number five? Yes.
12:55Features of photo number five? Correct.
12:57And again, just for for the record and
12:59for when you go back, like
13:01number
13:02number one is Would you say three
13:04similar? She's similar to the younger
13:06female that we've always described in
13:09everything. This part right here doesn't
13:12really match what I'm remembering, but
13:14yeah. But her line doesn't match? The
13:15smaller one, older one. And just cuz
13:18it's been a long time,
13:20um
13:21can you write me what number what what
13:23the younger one did, like the main parts
13:25of it compared to the older one, just
13:27for the last
13:28like clear you stuff.
13:30So, for the record, so The younger one
13:33is the one that let me go. Okay. And was
13:35the nicer of the two. Okay. The older
13:38one was really abusive
13:40and really mean and is the one that
13:43did all the really terrible things.
13:46Okay.
13:47Remember, Sherry said that she was
13:48abducted by two Hispanic females, one
13:51older and one younger.
13:53Sherry is asked to clarify which of the
13:54pictures she's chosen refer to which
13:56suspects and then asked for a brief
13:58difference in her treatment from the
13:59two.
14:01And that's That's my memory, too. Just
14:03trying to reference it for our notes and
14:06So, we don't have to say, "Oh, she was
14:08referring to the second interview back
14:10in 2017." It's hard. I've been mixing
14:12names in my head, but
14:16They're really close.
14:18They're not close. Is number three alive
14:19in that photo?
14:22And then one more.
14:31I don't think anyone in this one really
14:33So, for six-pack number three, nobody
14:38Really? I don't think so.
14:44So, we have more pictures. We're not
14:46Let's not get into the rule.
14:48So, like I said, with the females the
14:51familiar DNA, obviously, we saw that
14:53first picture that had the wood panel on
14:55the
14:56table, right? So, that's that's
14:57ultimately what led us to those
14:59pictures,
15:00which then snowballed us
15:02down the road that we're eventually at
15:04and where we are.
15:06So, were you able to find like where
15:08that house is? Yes.
15:11And what Tell me more. Tell me Tell me
15:14more. We'll get to that.
15:16I'd rather go in that.
15:19It's revealed that the house in question
15:20has been located. Sherry's excitement is
15:23understandable. However, her excitement
15:25is actually anxiousness. You see,
15:28Sherry's only telling some truths.
15:30She's hiding a lot of information from
15:32not only the investigators, but Keith,
15:34as well.
15:36Do you have any idea?
15:37And may I ask, how did we even get to
15:39that one? How did we get that photo?
15:41Familiar familiar DNA. So, they said
15:44they came back and said, "Oh, here's
15:45some people related in this familiar
15:4740 people
15:48total. That's a good thing, I guess.
15:50But, 40's better than starting over.
15:52130 or whatever the number is. That
15:54caught your eye. From there, we started
15:55looking at everything that we could.
15:57Phones, online presence, criminal
15:59history,
16:00Facebook photos, DMV photo, what they
16:02drive.
16:04on it. Like Like you said, Denise
16:06Obviously, you guys are aware Denise is
16:08in a different location now. She's one
16:09that found that picture. So, we cast a
16:11wide net to start finding certain
16:15aspects.
16:15still working on the case, even though
16:17she's in the Not officially, but I
16:18always call her and say, "Hey, what do
16:20you think about this? What do you think
16:21about that?" I care so much. I'm so
16:23sorry. I'm so sorry.
16:25So,
16:26and
16:28So, if you look at this photo, there's
16:40Obviously, there's no There's stuff in
16:42there now.
16:43I'm not looking at the stuff.
16:47I literally was cleaning papers out
16:50yesterday and found that.
16:55I mean, look at the picture you have,
16:56but I've seen it now. Now we got it.
17:14Do you remember this trunk?
17:16Yes. I just found the original one of
17:19that. I was trying to explain. It's a
17:21little bit different, but
17:24it's pretty Excuse my language, it's
17:26pretty [ __ ] similar.
17:29But,
17:31it's different.
17:33What's different and what's the same?
17:37It's hard. There's a lot of [ __ ] in the
17:38photos, but Well, let's just focus on
17:41this. Let's focus on those two cuz
17:43there's less There's less color.
17:45I've been I've done walked the streets
17:47with my wife in Mexico. We went to every
17:49shop because of the color changes. No
17:51Nothing Not because there was anything
17:53new in it. Just the color.
17:56Now, can I ask a question? Is this from
17:58the same house as that? We don't know
18:00yet.
18:01What
18:03What do you see in this photo, Sherry?
18:04Like what?
18:06You said it looks very similar. What's
18:07similar?
18:08is
18:09what I'm remembering that feeling, you
18:12know, grabbing it and feeling that
18:14feeling. But, this part is different.
18:17This part is different. That doesn't
18:19definitely doesn't look the same.
18:20part it looks the same as what you
18:22remember?
18:24But, this piece right here
18:26This part doesn't look the same, right?
18:29And what was the difference in it?
18:30That there was a lot more. There was a
18:33lot more there.
18:35Yes, thank you. I don't think the
18:37pictures really show
18:41If I Maybe look at this.
18:43More metal or like beefier, like If you
18:46look at the stronger this side of it, a
18:48little bit more. It's basically the
18:49width of a plywood sheet of plywood.
18:52It's like a piece of plywood, almost.
18:54It didn't look like that. Yeah, it looks
18:55blown up, so it makes it look like it's
18:56that thick, but it's about like 3/4
18:59inch, somewhere. It's probably like half
19:01inch. It's a half inch of stuff. Okay,
19:02yeah, it looked bigger in the picture.
19:05It didn't look like that.
19:07Okay, but similar.
19:09Besides the metal part, anything else
19:11similar?
19:13I mean,
19:15the metal part.
19:17What about one birch shelf versus two
19:19shelves? Oh.
19:23I think there was two shelves, but now
19:25I'm having trouble remembering. I think
19:27there was two. I'm pretty sure there was
19:28two. I can't Maybe there was two. I
19:30don't know. I'm focusing on this part
19:32right now. Sorry.
19:33Sure.
19:36So, that's fine.
19:45Window.
19:50With the wood panel?
19:56Try to ignore the TV and stuff. I don't
19:57think you had a TV with you, right?
19:59Definitely not. Um
20:02What am I What am I looking for for the
20:04window? Do you want to know if it's like
20:05the same height and everything?
20:07type of window, the wall itself,
20:10anything in any of these photos that
20:11make you believe that this was where you
20:13were being held. I feel like
20:17this wood paneling is too thick, but I
20:22mean
20:24You mean this wall?
20:24There was wood paneling, but I don't I
20:26can't remember something like that being
20:28there.
20:29And I I don't remember
20:33Okay.
20:35I don't remember it going all the way up
20:37to the window is what I'm having trouble
20:39remembering. The window in that photo
20:41has holes along the edges.
20:47Those holes I just don't know about
20:49that, right?
20:50Yeah, but hold on a second. Yeah, we're
20:52going fast. Sorry. We don't mean to
20:55overwhelm you. We're just trying to
20:57draw your attention to different things
20:59that maybe we noted and we want to know
21:01how that compares with what you compared
21:04to the wood paneling because it's
21:06getting just
21:08Take note of Sherri's posture. She's
21:10hunched over, avoiding eye contact, and
21:13even shielding her face from the
21:14detectives.
21:16As the questions become harder and
21:17harder, and as each subsequent picture
21:19confirmation rolls through, she begins
21:22to recede further and further into
21:23herself.
21:25I don't remember I mean that's probably
21:26the important thing.
21:29I mean I don't I don't know if I'm
21:30supposed to talk about it, but obviously
21:31it's Those are screw holes, right? Is
21:33that what you're getting at? They're
21:34just holes. Holes, screw, nail,
21:36something. Okay.
21:38For a floor.
21:40Holy [ __ ]
21:50So, is it fair to say that this
21:54the paneling like wood paneling below
21:57and sheetrock above is what you
21:59remember? But you can't recall
22:02details about the ledge and the the
22:04difference in width of these I just
22:06remember it actually went exactly what I
22:08was drawn to is that this is touching
22:10the window.
22:10the window? And I don't
22:12Pressure? Yeah.
22:13Okay.
22:15Something's going funky with that, it
22:17seems.
22:18Well, I don't know if that's before or
22:19after.
22:20Sorry. We could be off base.
22:23That and it could even be a detail
22:24that's there, but an important
22:28So, one of the things that we always
22:29noted in the like the bathroom
22:31description is just the the weird layout
22:33of the bathroom. So, do you remember the
22:35layout of the bathroom? Yes. Well
22:37Let's talk about the description best
22:39description and then we'll start showing
22:40some pictures.
22:41There's
22:42door, toilet,
22:44sink, tub. Is that what you mean? You
22:47walk in the door, first there's a
22:49toilet. Yes. On the left or right side?
22:52If I'm
22:54She's the worst with
22:56just in general.
22:58I am
22:59I don't know. But whatever you you walk
23:01in the door, on one left or right you
23:03have a toilet, then I want to say left.
23:07I'm sorry. That's fine.
23:09I want to say toilet on the left.
23:11Okay. So, maybe toilet on the left.
23:13Okay, hold on. Toilet on the side.
23:15Toilet on the side and then what's next?
23:16Toilet on the side,
23:18sink,
23:19tub.
23:21Take a moment to make a mental note of
23:22how Sherri is acting, laughing, more
23:25than willing to talk, and even making
23:27small jokes with the investigators at
23:28times. Okay. And that's a unique thing
23:31about bathrooms.
23:32Yeah. We all We all agree with
23:38Yes. Yes.
23:40The layout of the bathroom that Sherri
23:41was allowed to use was extremely odd,
23:44which stood out to investigators when
23:45she gave its description after her
23:47reappearance. The bathroom in question,
23:49coincidentally enough, has almost the
23:51exact same layout, materials, and even
23:54imperfections.
23:56I think it's the first one that we saw.
23:57Thank you, Sherri. That's all I know.
24:03Let's get it over with.
24:05Thank you, Sherri. That's all I know.
24:07All right. Now I'm ready.
24:19Well, that's nonsense. That's nonsense.
24:23Don't think that's in that magazine.
24:25I mean
24:27Yeah, the first thing that you saw
24:28Yeah.
24:32Oh, come on. We were talking about the
24:35order.
24:36We were talking about the order. That's
24:38nice that it's not open, so that's good.
24:40this doesn't look like the bathroom to
24:43me, but the order is
24:45Yes, this is the type of order, but this
24:48is not what it looked like to me. And
24:53So, the order is correct, but you don't
24:54recognize the bathroom as being what you
24:56recall.
24:57Do you remember there was a detail about
24:59the shower that you provided previously?
25:02Uh about the type of
25:07something on the tile or something like
25:08that. Do you remember any of that?
25:09tile on the tile. There was a crack.
25:11Where was the crack?
25:14It's not a memory test. If you don't
25:16remember, that's fine, but we we
25:18remember that detail where we were
25:20looking at some of these photos and we
25:21just wanted to rub it up against what
25:22you might remember.
25:26I don't know. I don't know.
25:32In general, are we talking about Okay.
25:36Sherri shushes the federal investigator.
25:39This could be a response driven by two
25:41factors. One, Sherri wants to come up
25:43with an answer under the guise of
25:45recalling her memories, and two,
25:47Sherri's narcissistic urge to control
25:49the conversation at her own pace and
25:50direction. Yet again, she shields her
25:53face from the investigator.
25:56Sorry.
25:57That's okay.
25:59Thank you, Ty.
26:02I don't know.
26:04I know I remember there was a crack on
26:05that.
26:07So, if we're like trying to Do you
26:09remember if it was high or low? Was it
26:12any of those like details? Horizontal,
26:15vertical?
26:17One tile up the tile?
26:35Not sure if I'm supposed to Can I talk
26:37or not? Sure.
26:38If it helps you, tell us your [ __ ] I
26:40know I'm sorry. I'm trying to like get
26:42myself there and I just as a reminder I
26:45do remember when we went to my grandma's
26:46house.
26:47Mhm. You didn't like her tile cuz it
26:49reminded you of that. I think I sent
26:51You sent us a picture. Yeah, that's why
26:53I was saying we were
26:54That's us. I just wanted to remind her
26:55cuz if you think of that cuz I can't
26:56even think of what her tile looks like
26:57right now, but I do remember you didn't
26:59like that at all.
27:01But I can't remember the crack. I
27:03remember you told me a crack, but I
27:04don't remember where you told me. I
27:05don't Otherwise I'd bring it up, but
27:06Yeah.
27:07I don't know. I mean I'm so nervous of
27:09like saying something that's not going
27:10to be right, so
27:12Sherri expresses some apprehension at
27:14saying something that might not be
27:15correct. This is an incredibly ironic
27:17statement as we will soon find out. I I
27:20just can't remember. I Like I said in
27:22the beginning, we only want the truth,
27:24and so whatever is the best I think
27:26we'll get
27:26understanding or memory that you have.
27:28We'll get there eventually. And my
27:29direction is obviously not the best.
27:32Well, then this is starting to
27:41That doesn't look right
27:44to me.
27:46But
27:49So, this crack is in a different
27:50location than this crack, which is
27:52probably better viewed in this photo.
27:56Yeah.
28:01But this is the same bathroom we showed
28:03you that
28:04This is the same one with the charming
28:06magazine on the Sports Illustrated, yes.
28:11This interaction, Sherri's disapproval
28:13of the quote charming magazine in the
28:16bathroom, which was a copy of Sports
28:17Illustrated, is a strange peek into the
28:20type of person that Sherri is. Sherri
28:22doesn't approve of a magazine like
28:24Sports Illustrated, the swimsuit edition
28:26undoubtedly, but Sherri's moral compass
28:28tends to only point in one direction,
28:30one way,
28:32her way.
28:36Okay, so nothing jumps out at you in
28:38that photo? We're not trying to
28:39overwhelm you. Obviously,
28:41it's been a long road and and and here
28:43we are.
28:46If we could go back to the closet really
28:47quick, though. I remember when you were
28:49talking about
28:51being chained in the closet
28:54and trying to figure out a way to get
28:56loose.
28:57You talked about working on that screw,
29:00right? Uh-huh. And what happened to that
29:02screw when you were done with it? I dug
29:04a hole in the wall and poked it into the
29:06wall. Okay.
29:08Because this is
29:11is an interesting photo as well.
29:16Is this in the closet? That's in the
29:18closet. No, it was uh it was drywall. It
29:21was into the drywall?
29:22into drywall, but But the electric plug,
29:25if I remember. Yeah. Okay.
29:29So, maybe not that one. No.
29:32Okay.
29:33Okay.
29:33So,
29:36we're showing you all of this
29:39um
29:40because ultimately, this is the house
29:43um
29:44that that you were at.
29:46Um
29:47We talked to you, the people who lived
29:48there.
29:49Um
29:53This is a moment to rejoice. The house
29:55in question has been found. Keith is
29:57bursting with relief and happiness at
29:59the new revelation, as you'd expect. But
30:02Sherry, Sherry seems to have no reaction
30:04other than calming Keith down for a
30:06moment.
30:07We we've we found the house. We found
30:09who was involved.
30:11We identified who was involved.
30:14We talked to family who who knows that
30:17you were there.
30:19I talked to a couple people that I
30:21talked to one guy
30:23who did see you
30:26during this event.
30:28Unfortunately,
30:30there's a lot of truth. There's a lot of
30:32things that were that were said that we
30:35have always confirmed. That we've always
30:37said
30:39there's there's a lot of truth and then
30:40there's the unknowns. Like one of the
30:42simple ones like well, this description
30:44of the bathroom is just weird. Like that
30:46was like an argument in all of our
30:48offices where we were sitting there like
30:49this.
30:50This part's weird.
30:52But then we find a house with it.
30:54Then the the all throughout through the
30:56thing, that's just I mean that's just
30:58weird.
31:00It's unique to this place. Like that's a
31:02pretty custom you can't just go out to
31:04IKEA and buy a closet that looks like
31:06this.
31:07Yeah, exactly. So once once we have all
31:09those things and we start talking to the
31:11person who lives here, who had lived
31:13there, who still lives there,
31:16start talking to his family and starting
31:18that whole investigation, peeling one
31:20thing back after another after another,
31:22doing the same thing we've done for the
31:24last 4 years.
31:26It led us to a specific person
31:30but not a female.
31:32It led us to the car that picked you up
31:34but not an SUV.
31:37So there's lots of different aspects
31:39that are truths and falses.
31:43And we're we're to the point now that
31:46nobody would have ever imagined that
31:48this would have blown up the way that it
31:50did.
31:51So I've been a cop 15 years. I've never
31:55seen the media scale that that this
31:57garnered pretty quickly.
32:01How long you been in law enforcement
32:02now? 12 years in the bureau. So like of
32:06the minds, Brian who'd been around 20
32:08plus years, people who've been in my
32:10office like 25, 30 plus years,
32:14the media attention that this got out
32:16was was insane.
32:19So I think with that being said, some
32:22choices and some decisions
32:24ultimately ultimately changed the
32:27original path of of what happened.
32:32I don't think anybody would have
32:35wished the media frenzy that occurred
32:37like for this event, no matter what the
32:39situation. If it was a kid, because the
32:42media skewed so many facts. It it
32:44brought so many people in from the
32:46woodwork that if we didn't have the
32:48woodwork, we wouldn't have the noise.
32:49And that brings a lot of pressure
32:52when you get that kind of scrutiny.
32:54So we we'd like to talk to you more
32:56about those things and we can do it with
32:59Keith here or we can ask Keith to leave.
33:02So whatever you're comfortable with so
33:03we can
33:05break down
33:06some of the problems. If you want Keith
33:08here, all we want is to have the truth.
33:12All we want is you to be able to tell
33:13the truth.
33:15All that's all we've ever wanted from
33:17day one.
33:19We went we talked to you for hours.
33:21We've been there. We we've done the all
33:23these different things waiting for
33:25something, waiting for it to break,
33:27waiting for us to get
33:29at least something to hear
33:31cuz the DNA came back like I said to a
33:33specific person.
33:35That specific person told us very
33:37specific things.
33:40His family then told us specific things.
33:44So if
33:45we can talk with Keith or without Keith
33:48here,
33:49what would you like?
33:57The slow head turn to Keith is as
33:59unsettling as it seems. As mentioned in
34:02the opening of the interview, there was
34:03a familial DNA match to DNA evidence
34:06found on Sherry when she reappeared. And
34:08now it is revealed that after further
34:09investigation, the actual person has
34:11been found as well. Things are going to
34:14get very awkward very quickly as the web
34:16of lies Sherry has woven begin to become
34:19untangled.
34:25It's completely up to you.
34:29Like I've always said, I wanted you to
34:31have a voice. I wanted you to make
34:33decisions. I wanted you to control
34:35certain aspects. I think I told you that
34:37on the first interview we ever had. I
34:39never want to bully you. I never want
34:41you to believe I'm bullying you. I want
34:44you to take back control.
34:46That's one of those things. This is that
34:48that take back control of the interview,
34:51which I promised you to do the first
34:53time we talked if you remember that.
34:55Actually, we were in Mount Shasta, so it
34:56was the second time we talked.
34:59The detective is very precise with his
35:01wording and is certain to not outright
35:03accuse Sherry of anything. He says that
35:05he wants her to take back control, a
35:07common phrase and act when trying to
35:09give victimized individuals a voice when
35:11they feel voiceless. He's careful to
35:13phrase what he wants her to do as taking
35:15back control, as in control the
35:17narrative before someone else like law
35:20enforcement says it for them while
35:22simultaneously avoiding victim blaming
35:24or sounding accusatory.
35:26It's been a long road, Sherry, but we
35:28just want to talk to you. We can have
35:29Keith step out if that's going to make
35:31you more comfortable.
35:33That's up to you.
35:38Do you want to step out or do you want
35:39to stay?
35:40I want to say I want to stay.
35:45Or we can do a little bit of both. Talk
35:47to you alone first and then Keith can
35:48come back in.
35:57It's completely up to you. And that's
35:59why I'm not even looking at Keith. I
36:00don't care about your opinion here.
36:03I what we want out of this is just
36:07is the truth.
36:09So we can get ahead of some things. So
36:11we can help control things.
36:13How crazy things got. So the unknown
36:17if I say certain things, what's Keith's
36:19reaction?
36:20Cuz you don't know what I'm going to
36:21say, right? So I don't know Keith's
36:23reaction either.
36:24So if I say other things like oh, Keith
36:26won't worry about that. He can come back
36:27in.
36:28But I'd rather give you the opportunity
36:31to hear things,
36:33be able to judge it because at
36:34everything, right? I'm saying things to
36:36you that are making me nervous. It's
36:38making Keith nervous.
36:40It's it's changing the right? What
36:42we changed the tone of the interview.
36:43You can feel it already in the room from
36:45the way you walked in to what you're
36:46feeling right now.
36:49So Well, I mean law enforcement has
36:52always it's
36:53been an issue. So
36:56So if if you want Keith to leave, I'll
36:59ask Keith nicely to leave.
37:01If you don't want Keith to leave, then
37:02he can sit here and
37:05we'll we'll move on to the next stages.
37:09But
37:10I want to give you that opportunity
37:12first.
37:20But
37:22obviously everything's fearful. If you
37:23tell him to leave and what I'm going to
37:25say is benign,
37:27then then he's got we we can pull him
37:29back in the room like hey, Keith, come
37:31back in. This this is what this is what
37:33we talked about.
37:35So so there's that fear of him wigging
37:38out like why is she trying to hide
37:39something from me?
37:41There isn't if there's no helping. Yeah,
37:43there's no trick here. We're just trying
37:44to make sure that
37:46there's no trouble stopping you can't be
37:47the doctor us
37:48truthfully.
37:51Are you They're asking you. They're not
37:52asking me. Obviously I I would want to
37:54be here and whatever needs to come out
37:55is fine.
37:56your mind in in the future, too, if you
37:58want to change your mind.
37:59up.
37:59So Like I said in the beginning, you're
38:00free to go. So if you wanted to talk to
38:03them privately, that's fine, too, but we
38:05want to talk to you.
38:06We can leave the room, give you guys the
38:07room for a couple minutes.
38:09This next stage of things could be could
38:12be benign. Could be like
38:16I we forgot to tell you this or oh yeah,
38:18all these things make sense now. I could
38:21tell you the puzzle that makes it all
38:23come together or I can tell the puzzle
38:25that crashes everything apart. I don't
38:27know what that piece is, honestly. All I
38:30know is facts. All I know is certain
38:31specific items that will either tear the
38:34castle down or it's going to build the
38:35castle up. I don't want to
38:38I don't want to build tear the castle
38:39down and not give you
38:42the ability to then fix your own castle.
38:44Even if it's just a small thing here or
38:47it's the whole castle, I want you to be
38:49able to to choose that.
38:52So we can step out of the room, let you
38:54guys talk cuz I don't know what
38:56information I'm going to do if it's
38:58life-changing news or if it's oh yeah,
39:01everything's fine.
39:03I just don't know what it is.
39:05Usually, right, we show the pictures
39:06because every everybody's invested in
39:08this picture.
39:09Keith did the drawings. Keith is the one
39:11who laid gave this stuff. So Keith has
39:13always been a part of your memory for
39:15small details.
39:17And that's why Keith's been here this
39:19whole time and and that's why
39:21He makes me feel safe in here. So he
39:23makes you feel safe, too, if you want. I
39:25you can change your mind. Absolutely.
39:28And again, I just don't know what the
39:30pieces are. So if I would say hey, this
39:32is going to bring the whole world down,
39:33I'd tell you.
39:36And then we need to talk talk a while
39:39or I would suggest we talk a while.
39:42But that's completely up to you guys cuz
39:44I don't know.
39:45I just want to talk to Yeah. We'll be
39:47We'll be right
40:00The investigators leave the room to
40:02allow Sherri and Keith a moment to talk.
40:04Undoubtedly, this is an act of
40:06graciousness to allow Sherri to be the
40:08one to tell Keith the truth. The truth
40:10that she's been hiding from Keith for
40:11almost 4 years at this point. The audio
40:14you will hear has been greatly enhanced
40:16and at some points is still difficult to
40:18hear. Captions have been applied where
40:20possible but some of what's been said
40:22has been undoubtedly lost into the
40:24ether.
40:29We need to stop right here.
40:32Thank you.
40:34Yeah, what are you doing?
40:41I don't want them to find out who I am.
40:42I don't want them to find out who I am.
40:46I don't want them to find out who I am.
40:47I don't want I don't want them to
40:51I don't
40:52I don't want them to find out who I am.
40:54I don't want her to be arrested. I don't
40:55want her arrested or dishonored. I don't
40:57want to find her. Explain to me right
40:59now
41:02I don't know. I don't know. I don't want
41:04them to find her. You're not listening
41:06to me.
41:06what.
41:07Another peek into who Sherri is without
41:09her mask
41:10on. With no hesitation, Keith has
41:12believed Sherri since her disappearance
41:14but now the holes in her story are
41:16beginning to show. When he presses her
41:18on the truth, she snaps at him angrily.
41:20Sherri's control of the narrative is
41:22swirling down the drain and her one
41:24unwavering lifeline since the very
41:26beginning is now asking questions.
41:29Because she saved my life. But tell me
41:38They're keeping it dark right now.
41:40Yeah, they're [ __ ] with you. No,
41:42that's not what I mean.
41:44I don't want them to find her. I don't
41:45want to press charges and I don't want I
41:47don't want to go down that road.
41:49But did you tell her?
41:52I don't want to go down that road. I
41:54don't want
41:55Tell me why you're protecting her.
41:56Because she saved my life and she's the
41:58reason why I get to hold my children
41:59every single day.
42:02And that's why you don't want to give
42:03her
42:05I don't want them to find her. Why don't
42:06you want me to find her?
42:07I don't
42:08Why do I want
42:11I don't want them to arrest her.
42:14Why? Because she saved my life.
42:18So you don't want to arrest her.
42:20Please don't make me find out who it is.
42:28And then you're allowed to think it's
42:29just since you're
42:33This comes out and you find out It's
42:35over when it happens though.
42:38And it doesn't matter what you say.
42:39There is The girl's name.
42:44So
42:45you need to
42:47Tell him the truth.
42:48Tell him the truth. If you don't want to
42:50press charges, then that's up to you.
42:57I don't think I can do that.
43:01You're not making sense now.
43:04To the point where I'm getting scared
43:06now.
43:10So you need to
43:13Tell me
43:14what's going
43:15in the video.
43:20Yeah.
43:21Sherri was given just under 2 and 1/2
43:23minutes to bring her husband up to speed
43:25on the truth of the matter and to soften
43:27any blows that Keith might receive when
43:29he hears the rest of the discovered
43:30information, Sherri opts to double down.
43:33She says that she doesn't want her
43:35arrested. Sherri comes up with or uses a
43:38poorly fabricated tale that the younger
43:40of her two kidnappers was the one to let
43:42her go and because that suspect gave her
43:44a chance to return to her family, she
43:46doesn't want her to get in any trouble
43:48and as a result, she doesn't want
43:50investigators to find out who she is.
43:52Keith, rightfully so, says that it
43:54doesn't make any sense and demands the
43:56truth. Detectives return at the 2 minute
43:58and 29 second mark into their one-on-one
44:01conversation to pick up where they left
44:03off. Or we can talk about it later.
44:05Thank you.
44:10It's just Do you want me in the room or
44:11not?
44:13I'm obviously hoping you've had a chance
44:14to chat briefly.
44:16The fears later maybe.
44:18Nothing's answered the question. Nothing
44:21that we got all saved you. I want to
44:23eventually tell him if you know if you
44:25want me to.
44:26Do you want me to just tell him
44:28I'm here for you now?
44:31We would love to hear what you have to
44:32say.
44:33Cuz we want to be able to address this
44:34as best we can.
44:47I don't
44:48know. I don't know.
44:49I don't know.
44:53Yeah, feel like you're you're in the
44:54driver's seat right now.
44:56I think it's easier to control things
44:58once you know what the information is.
45:00To be honest with you. Sure. So the I
45:03can tell you what it is.
45:06I don't know.
45:07Say Say what it is when Keith leaves.
45:09And then you can say yes or no whether
45:11or not you want him in there for the
45:12rest of it.
45:13For right now, he's just Am I in the
45:15room or am I out of it? So that has to
45:17be decided. And I'm
45:18And I'm I'm to the point where if you
45:20want him here, we'll just go on with the
45:21conversation. As long as you're not
45:23interrupting or advising that it's been
45:25all Oops. Still over here.
45:29But if he steps out, I can say a name.
45:32And then you can choose whether you you
45:33want you want him in here for the rest
45:35of it or not. It's completely up to you.
45:37Or I can just continue on and
45:40Again, like I said, I wanted you always
45:42have control um
45:44over certain aspects of stuff.
45:59We're not to a point where anybody's
46:01going to jail yet. We're not to a point
46:03of any anything like that.
46:05We're We're just still at the talking
46:07stage. We're at the control stage.
46:09Um
46:11You seem scared, Sherri.
46:13No, I'm not scared.
46:15What is it?
46:44When you don't answer, Sherri,
46:48it makes me concerned because I want to
46:50hear what your answers are and I want to
46:53be able to
46:55understand.
46:56The only way to control this is your
46:58truth right now. I
47:02Sherri is up against the wall now with
47:04no way out of her current situation. She
47:06has two options. Come clean now and hope
47:09that the authorities will be merciful or
47:12to again double down with investigators
47:14on the last 4 years of deceit just like
47:16she did with Keith a moment ago.
47:20I don't want you to find her.
47:22Sherri opts to dig her heels into her
47:24story, prays for a miracle, and sticks
47:27to her original story. But if we're not
47:29going to find her.
47:31She's the reason why I get to see my
47:33children every day.
47:36I agree but we're not going to find her.
47:37She's the reason What do you mean by
47:38that? She means the younger one that let
47:40her go.
47:42Right? So he returned to you.
47:44Um
47:46We're not going to find her.
47:49Uh and we can we can just skip to we can
47:52skip to the rock into the water and rub
47:54up the pond if we want to now. Again,
47:57the this your last offer this this last
47:59time if you want to do this alone or
48:00with Keith.
48:01Keith's been through this also on a
48:04different level.
48:05Um
48:06So I'm
48:08I'm ready just to
48:10I'm ready to move on and and throw the
48:12dart and throw the rock and see what
48:13happens to the water.
48:15But Sherri, look look at me.
48:16What do you want?
48:19I don't want her to get in trouble.
48:21She's not going to get in trouble.
48:23So the DNA came back to James Reyes.
48:28Uh Your DNA that was on you
48:31belongs to James Reyes. The picture in
48:34the Can I get the picture?
48:37The picture of the table
48:39is James Reyes' little brother. He died
48:42recently.
48:44Just after 40 minutes into the
48:46interview, it is revealed that the DNA
48:48that was found on Sherri was linked to
48:49James Reyes. James Reyes is no stranger
48:52to Sherri. They had previously been
48:54involved in a very serious long-term
48:56relationship. Not only was the DNA
48:58matched to Reyes but upon confrontation,
49:01Reyes told investigators every single
49:03bit of detail. The house of lies that
49:05Sherri Papini has built is now tumbling
49:08down.
49:09Yeah.
49:10He
49:12We talked to him.
49:14We
49:15put him on a polygraph.
49:16We talked to everybody around him.
49:19We have the rental agreements, phone
49:21rental, car rental agreements.
49:24We have We have everything
49:26that says that he said he told me you.
49:29That's James' brother.
49:31Deceased. Nick.
49:34So everything you've told us so many
49:37truths in this situation.
49:39The reason why you can describe the room
49:42is because you stayed in the room in the
49:44dark for hours, for days on end.
49:47The reason why you lost so much weight
49:49is because you stopped eating.
49:51The reason why you got a rash on your
49:52arm is because you cleaned this house.
49:55The reason why the brand is because he
49:58went to the store, bought the branding
49:59tools, and branded you.
50:01The reason why your nose was broke is
50:03because of a hockey stick.
50:06I know all of those things, and I know
50:09there was no sex.
50:11Investigators also revealed something
50:12that would be shocking to most people.
50:14There was no sex between Sherri and
50:16James. For someone who grandstands what
50:18they believe is objectionable material,
50:20like the Sports Illustrated magazine
50:22from earlier in the interview, this one
50:24detail seems disturbingly hypocritical.
50:27She objects to the magazine, and she
50:29didn't physically cheat on Keith, but
50:31simultaneously, she disappeared and ran
50:33off with an ex-boyfriend for over 3
50:35weeks. Where exactly does Sherri's true
50:38moral compass lie?
50:40I know all of that
50:41because he passed a polygraph test. That
50:44said, it's not an abduction. She asked
50:47me to come here. No. I rented a car. No.
50:51I drove up and picked her up.
50:54He He passed the polygraph test, Sherri.
50:57If that's not what happened, what did
50:59happen, Sherri? I don't know.
51:03No, there's no way it's James. There's
51:06no way. There's no way. The DNA doesn't
51:09lie. His DNA His DNA was on you. There's
51:12no way. Robert saw you in the house
51:17while you were down there. While
51:19everything spun out of control, his
51:21cousin.
51:23Why everything ran out of control,
51:25come to the initial.
51:27There's no way.
51:29It's It's 100% Robert's DNA James's DNA.
51:34We even collected blonde hairs from the
51:36room.
51:38Blonde hairs collected at James Reyes's
51:40house returned as a match to Sherri
51:42Papini, further bolstering the already
51:44nearly airtight claims that Sherri was
51:47with Reyes.
51:48There's no way it's James. There's no
51:51way. It's a lie that it is. Why are you
51:53saying it's not James?
51:57Why are you saying it's not?
52:02Again, with no real response aside from
52:04there's no way it's James, Sherri buries
52:07her face and cries.
52:10He loves me.
52:12What's that? We were friends. There's no
52:15way.
52:16And he came and got you because you
52:17asked him.
52:20No. When was the last time you had
52:21contact with James?
52:24It was when his brother died.
52:27Brother died in 2017?
52:31Is that right?
52:33I don't remember.
52:36Was it before or after the abduction?
52:39Before Before.
52:44When was the last time you saw James?
52:51I don't know.
52:52Forever ago when I lived in Southern
52:55California. So, the last
52:57person-to-person contact you had with
52:59him was back in 2006?
53:02When you were living in Southern
53:03California? I don't know.
53:07So, was it prior to your marriage?
53:11It's him. There is no way it's him.
53:13Well, it is James.
53:15The DNA tells us that it it was his DNA
53:17on you.
53:18The The DNA alone says it's him.
53:21And when we talked to him, confronted
53:23him with the DNA,
53:24he told us what happened. He 100% told
53:26us what happened. And gave us details
53:28that nobody else would know. And we can
53:30call him, and we can all talk about it.
53:33But,
53:34ultimately,
53:36he will give me a free second.
53:38Sherri's avoidance of eye contact does
53:40not go unnoticed. Sherri ignores the
53:42request to look up. She will lift her
53:44head up only two more times throughout
53:46this interview, avoiding eye contact
53:48and, unfortunately, muffling a majority
53:51of her words.
53:53Ultimately, we put him on a polygraph
53:54like we did Keith.
53:57Keith was inconclusive, to be honest
53:59with you.
54:00Keith on whether he was involved or not.
54:04But, 100% James was telling the truth.
54:08The questions were,
54:10did Sherri ask you to come pick her up?
54:12He answered yes. That was a truth on a
54:14polygraph.
54:16We asked him, you the two of you ever
54:18had sex? The answer was no.
54:21During 2016. During 2016, during the
54:24abduction, he said no. That was a truth.
54:27We asked him if you asked him to brand
54:30if you asked him to brand you,
54:32the answer was yes.
54:34And he passed the polygraph on all of
54:36those questions.
54:39He took us to the stores where he bought
54:41the chain.
54:42He talked We talked to the friend who
54:43rented the car.
54:45The car that he rented drove over 900
54:47miles in a day
54:50on the drop-off point.
54:54Sherri, I know this is a lot to take in.
54:58All of this is not like we don't know
54:59the answers to these questions. And the
55:01fear of
55:02fear of Keith's reaction, obviously he
55:05knows he's in the room.
55:07The fear of
55:08media, the fear of
55:10all of these things are coming are
55:13coming forward. They're They're in front
55:14of you now.
55:17In the last 15 minutes, Keith has
55:19learned that the place where his wife
55:20was held captive and the person
55:22responsible for her disappearance are
55:24both known, but immediately after that,
55:27that his wife is hiding something, that
55:29her ex-boyfriend is involved, and that
55:31he was involved because Sherri asked
55:33him, generally speaking, for him to help
55:35Sherri abduct herself. Keith's world is
55:38collapsing in on itself yet again, and
55:40he slowly distances himself from Sherri
55:42as the interview progresses.
55:45The only way to get a hold of it, the
55:46only way for everybody to come together
55:49and heal, the whole community has to
55:51heal,
55:52is to is for us to be able to say, when
55:55we when we presented all of the
55:57evidence,
55:58all of the stuff that came forward,
56:00she you told us the truth.
56:03You told us what happened.
56:05Because
56:06you did go in a dark room. That's true.
56:09You did sleep in the backseat of the
56:11car. That's true.
56:13You did um
56:16lose weight. You were branded. Your hair
56:18was cut. You did have bruises all over.
56:21But, how those bruises got there are
56:23because you did it and James did some.
56:27The reason why your nose got broke is
56:29because you held the hockey stick to
56:30your face, and he forced it into your
56:32nose.
56:33The reason why the brand is in a
56:35straight line is because he did it. He
56:38described exactly where it was. He told
56:41us exactly how he did it, where he did
56:42it, how he did it.
56:44Only you and I and maybe five other
56:46people know where the brand was.
56:49He told me immediately.
56:52When Sherri reappeared, she had burn
56:53injuries on her right shoulder that were
56:55caused by being branded with red-hot
56:57metal. This brand appears to be a
56:59reference to a Bible verse, but what the
57:01significance of the brand represented
57:03was never discovered.
57:06Robert told friends and family you were
57:07there. His mom knew that you were there
57:10because, of course, it went news, and
57:11everybody knew you guys dated. Everybody
57:13guys knew you guys had a relationship.
57:15So, when it happened, of course, family
57:17reached out to him, and he told them
57:18that actually was here.
57:19But, he said it hurt her while I didn't
57:21hurt her.
57:30So,
57:31what are you thinking, Sherri?
57:33That doesn't make any sense. Why doesn't
57:35it make sense?
57:38What actions doesn't make sense?
57:41A lot of it doesn't make sense.
57:43Okay.
57:44Can we talk about those?
57:47No.
57:51James' DNA was confirmed on you on your
57:54clothes.
57:56The two of you haven't seen each other
57:57in over a decade.
58:00You You told me that you haven't been in
58:01his room. You haven't had contact with
58:03him in over 10 years. However, You just
58:06described his bedroom to a T. And this
58:08And the DNA on you was still a vibrant
58:11piece of DNA.
58:1310-year-old DNA dies.
58:15The DNA that was there specifically was
58:18non-seminal fluid. It was It was seminal
58:20fractions.
58:23You got that from his house somewhere.
58:27So, whether it was the bed that you were
58:28sleeping on, whether it was the couch,
58:30whether it was anywhere in there.
58:34When somebody would come to the door and
58:36be around the property, you would call
58:38James. James would call Robert, which is
58:41was two doors down. Robert would run
58:43people off the property.
58:45Robert told me all of that.
58:47James told me everything.
58:50So, the only person that hasn't
58:53started telling us certain facts. There
58:55are certain facts that are true. When we
58:58were sitting there talking to James,
59:00there was so many truths that were a
59:02part of your story that it's hard to
59:04decipher the lies
59:07until we put it all together. Until he
59:09says, "Hey, why
59:11How did you pick her up? I opened up the
59:13passenger side seat. I opened the door.
59:15You jumped in the backseat.
59:17Why'd you Why'd you do that? Why'd you
59:18do that? I don't know.
59:20It was weird.
59:23So, So, are you Are you calling James a
59:25liar?
59:27Are you not Are you Are we not believing
59:28James what he told me?
59:30No.
59:34Investigators keep the pressure on
59:36Sherri. All the evidence and witness
59:38statements show that Sherri was with
59:40James. She's now faced with an
59:42uncomfortable ultimatum. Does she dig
59:44her heels even further into her story,
59:46which has completely come apart? Does
59:48she throw James, who was ultimately her
59:50accomplice, under the bus? Or does she
59:52come clean and try to make things right?
59:57I know I know you're scared.
59:59believe that it is James.
1:00:01So, you can't believe James told us the
1:00:03truth.
1:00:04That's what I can't believe.
1:00:07Uh
1:00:08He passed a polygraph, Sherri. So did
1:00:11Keith. No, he didn't. He was a
1:00:12conclusive.
1:00:14And he was involved.
1:00:15So, James is involved. So, James is
1:00:18involved, but I don't believe
1:00:19James picked you up. You called James to
1:00:21pick you up. You mailed him a letter
1:00:23with your address.
1:00:24You used a No.
1:00:26a burner phone to call another burner
1:00:28phone for James to come and get you.
1:00:31You're saying since you're married you
1:00:32haven't called James?
1:00:34No, I have called James. So, because
1:00:36earlier you said you had
1:00:39contacted James.
1:00:41His phone records show that you did. You
1:00:43did.
1:00:45The phones don't lie. The DNA doesn't
1:00:46lie, Sherri.
1:00:48His polygraph doesn't lie. So, we can
1:00:50you can go a couple different directions
1:00:51now. His story
1:00:53told you lying to me is a crime. So, you
1:00:55walk out this door with telling lies,
1:00:57and that's a crime.
1:00:59I think we need a lawyer.
1:01:02This isn't making any sense. What's not
1:01:04making sense, Sherri?
1:01:06The parts that don't make sense is
1:01:07James. No, the parts that don't make
1:01:09sense are that you're accusing two
1:01:11females
1:01:12who abducted you when it was James.
1:01:15The part that you were branded, James
1:01:17did it.
1:01:18He told me he did it.
1:01:19No. Who would Who would sit there and
1:01:21say, "I branded her branded Sherri on
1:01:23her right shoulder blade."
1:01:25Who does that?
1:01:26And he told us how and showed us the
1:01:28letters that match the brand. Took us to
1:01:30the store and pointed out the letters.
1:01:35Reality is starting to sink in for
1:01:37Sherri. On top of being confronted with
1:01:39the evidence of her being responsible
1:01:40for her own kidnapping, she's now been
1:01:43reminded that she's speaking to a
1:01:44federal investigator and has indeed
1:01:46committed a crime. Sherri makes her
1:01:48first smart decision in a very long
1:01:50time, and in an act of
1:01:52self-preservation, brings up wanting her
1:01:54lawyer.
1:01:58The The problem is today today is the
1:02:00case is resolved.
1:02:02Everything The only things Well,
1:02:05how do we prove that you're telling us
1:02:07the truth?
1:02:08How do we prove that the truth is that
1:02:12two women took you, but I I'm telling
1:02:14you it's a male.
1:02:15The The fact that you were branded is
1:02:18true. The small fact is that you
1:02:20willingly laid down and did it versus
1:02:23being tied to a table.
1:02:25So, we can always We can do the
1:02:26polygraph and try to whatever parts
1:02:29you're confused about. Can you go
1:02:31outside with me? Can I talk to you
1:02:33outside real quick?
1:02:34I'd rather wait. That's fine.
1:02:39Keith wants to talk to an investigator
1:02:40outside of the room for a moment.
1:02:42Undoubtedly, Keith is fed up with the
1:02:44entire situation, feeling manipulated,
1:02:47hurt, and defeated. For the first time
1:02:49since burying her face into her hands,
1:02:51Sherri looks up to see her husband, the
1:02:53person that has supported her and
1:02:55believed her from the very beginning,
1:02:57walk away from her for what she believes
1:02:59to be the very last time.
1:03:02The The fears of how out of control
1:03:04everything got, the fear of all these
1:03:06things
1:03:08is the reality.
1:03:10And the only people that can slow the
1:03:12train down is you and I.
1:03:17You You put yourself through this, so
1:03:19when you came forward you can tell
1:03:21certain stories.
1:03:22You missed
1:03:24the
1:03:26You couldn't control the DNA that was
1:03:28found.
1:03:30You couldn't control when we talked to
1:03:32James he'd tell us what happened.
1:03:39The story always was hard for anybody to
1:03:42understand.
1:03:44The tragedy that the community went
1:03:46through, the events that unfolded,
1:03:49the fear now of what what it all means.
1:03:54But there's no without a doubt James's
1:03:56DNA was on you.
1:03:59I can't I cannot No. The likelihood of
1:04:02being an ex-boyfriend is a problem. No.
1:04:06The It's astronomical.
1:04:09Then you add in when we go talk to
1:04:12people who never even heard of us,
1:04:14when we say, "What's going on here?"
1:04:15they knew that you were at the house.
1:04:18All of them never came forward.
1:04:22No.
1:04:24No what?
1:04:30Go on, call James.
1:04:38This was a long road.
1:04:40I had no idea where it was going to take
1:04:42me.
1:04:45But right now
1:04:49continuing and saying that two girls
1:04:50took you is a lie to Peter.
1:04:54It's just a lie.
1:04:56Cuz we were able to prove it with
1:04:57evidence,
1:04:58with a rental car agreement,
1:05:00person driving 2,000 miles in a day,
1:05:04the DNA on you, and him passing a
1:05:06polygraph. It's It's three legs to a
1:05:10three legs to a table that can stand.
1:05:14Keith's going to wait out there, Sherri.
1:05:18Now's your opportunity.
1:05:24Based on your reaction previously, what
1:05:26you're telling me is you did not call
1:05:27James and ask him to come and get you.
1:05:30Is that what you're saying?
1:05:34Because if that's what you're saying, I
1:05:35have to understand that.
1:05:39There are things he says that we can
1:05:40corroborate, and whatever you say we're
1:05:42going to try and corroborate.
1:05:44But right now I'm not sure what you're
1:05:45saying. You're just saying you can't
1:05:47believe it's him.
1:05:49And you're saying you don't understand.
1:05:52But there are deals details he provided.
1:05:54We know he you were in his house.
1:05:57We collected hairs from that bedroom.
1:06:01That's going to have DNA on it. We
1:06:02already have your hairs that you left
1:06:04with your cell phone when you were
1:06:05picked up.
1:06:07He has my DNA, obviously.
1:06:09So, that's not going to lie, either.
1:06:12The descriptions you provided are that
1:06:14room and that house to a T, except it's
1:06:18not a gravel driveway.
1:06:20And it's not elevated.
1:06:22And there's not two women who live
1:06:24there.
1:06:26But James lives there.
1:06:28James lives there. You know James lives
1:06:30there.
1:06:33So, you might as well get it out of your
1:06:35head that James is not involved. James
1:06:37is clearly involved. And James already
1:06:39told us he's the one that did the brand.
1:06:42That's something that he admitted to
1:06:44mayhem. He admitted to a felony you
1:06:46could put him in prison over. Well, how
1:06:48would that How do you It doesn't just It
1:06:51doesn't jive.
1:06:52James Reyes admitted to everything that
1:06:54happened, and as a result, due to his
1:06:56intentional, albeit requested,
1:06:58disfigurement of Sherri's body, he has
1:07:00admitted to mayhem. Under California
1:07:03law, mayhem is punishable by two to
1:07:05eight years in prison or a life sentence
1:07:07for aggravated mayhem.
1:07:09Now's your opportunity to say
1:07:11were there issues between you and Keith?
1:07:13Is that why you needed to leave?
1:07:15I mean, we read your text message. We're
1:07:17already aware of some issues, but
1:07:19enlighten us if that's the case.
1:07:21There was a valid reason for you to
1:07:22leave, let me know what that was.
1:07:25James said you had your jaw broken by
1:07:27him.
1:07:28And that's why he came and got you cuz
1:07:29you in an abusive relationship. No,
1:07:32my husband.
1:07:33Were you in an abusive relationship with
1:07:36him?
1:07:38Have you told other people in your life
1:07:40that
1:07:41like China that Keith has abused you in
1:07:43the past when that wasn't true?
1:07:47China told me that day two.
1:07:52Where there was an incident at a party
1:07:54that you got hurt playing like I don't
1:07:57know Wii or Pictionary or something, and
1:07:59then you told other friends that Keith
1:08:01hurt you
1:08:02when there was witnesses at the party
1:08:04that said you just that you got hurt
1:08:05during a party.
1:08:07And you go tell
1:08:10James that you were being hurt, you were
1:08:12being abused, and you couldn't come
1:08:14forward because Keith has friends in law
1:08:15enforcement. If all of that's Is that
1:08:18true?
1:08:24Has Keith ever been abusive towards you?
1:08:26We are not talking about my husband. I
1:08:29love my husband.
1:08:32So, why leave?
1:08:35Is James lying to us?
1:08:38I wanted to leave him cuz I wanted to be
1:08:40with my children. I would never leave my
1:08:43children. But you didn't You didn't
1:08:45leave them permanently. You came back to
1:08:47them. Ultimately, No. You left them
1:08:50every day at the
1:08:51daycare. So, it's not like they
1:08:56And James talked about that situation
1:08:58when you were driving down, how hard
1:08:59that was.
1:09:00You left at 10:00 knowing that Keith was
1:09:03going to get home late, knowing you were
1:09:04going to leave the kids at daycare,
1:09:06and how much that tore you up on the
1:09:08drive down.
1:09:11You told us that.
1:09:14Then things got out of control.
1:09:15James and I talked about that.
1:09:17We didn't talk about that before.
1:09:20When?
1:09:23Sherri's just either said her first
1:09:24truthful thing, or she's made a critical
1:09:26mistake. Sherri has maintained that she
1:09:29hasn't spoken to James since his
1:09:30brother's passing, but when the
1:09:32investigators mentioned that James had
1:09:34brought up that Sherri had a hard time
1:09:36imagining leaving her children behind,
1:09:38Sherri says that they had talked about
1:09:40that before.
1:09:41Now, earlier in the interrogation,
1:09:43Sherri said that she hadn't spoken to
1:09:45him since 2006,
1:09:4714 years prior. At the time of the
1:09:49interrogation, Sherri's son, Tyler, was
1:09:52a preschooler, and her daughter, Violet,
1:09:55was a toddler. It is impossible for both
1:09:58of these things that Sherri has said to
1:09:59be fact. One of the two things that
1:10:02she's presented as truth is not. Sherri
1:10:05admits this conversation happening, and
1:10:07as a result of that, inadvertently
1:10:08admits to lying.
1:10:10What are you doing out from work?
1:10:13What happened?
1:10:18Why was I talking to the guys?
1:10:24Like when you were in your vehicle, you
1:10:25give him a call?
1:10:28You just start chatting with him?
1:10:30Told him some of your problems?
1:10:33And when did it turn from just chatting
1:10:35to just planning to get away?
1:10:39No.
1:10:41No.
1:10:42No.
1:10:43You're getting all the diamond ring the
1:10:44night before. Why did I do that?
1:10:50We're trying to understand why you did
1:10:51that, too. We're trying to understand
1:10:53all of it.
1:10:54I don't know.
1:10:56I don't know what I was doing with the
1:10:57other men because I was doing them.
1:11:00It was an awful
1:11:01choice talking to other guys. That just
1:11:04got me here.
1:11:09So, are you What aspect are you saying?
1:11:11Like how how did How does talking to
1:11:13other people get you here? What you've
1:11:14gotten over. I don't love my husband.
1:11:16That's why I did the mistakes that I
1:11:19talked to other men that I shouldn't
1:11:21have.
1:11:22But But we took it a step farther this
1:11:24time.
1:11:25This is a little different than just
1:11:26chatting with them. I I appreciate you
1:11:29talking and being forthright about the
1:11:32other guys you were talking to.
1:11:34When did it turn into something more?
1:11:37Obviously, you never would have imagined
1:11:40that CNN and 20/20 and Good Morning
1:11:42America would care about you wanting to
1:11:46leave Keith, or wanting to teach him a
1:11:47lesson, No. or wanting to get him alive.
1:11:50No. I was just talking to James.
1:11:54I don't want to leave my husband. I
1:11:55don't love
1:11:58How were you talking?
1:12:00How were you talking to James?
1:12:02I don't want to leave my
1:12:04husband. Sure. How were you talking to
1:12:06James?
1:12:09Reality continues to dawn onto Sherri.
1:12:11Over her unintelligible blubbering, the
1:12:13few words she lets out are that she
1:12:15loves her husband and her children.
1:12:17Sherri had been having emotional affairs
1:12:19with men for years, only to serve her
1:12:21narcissistic needs. The realization that
1:12:23everything that she had before is about
1:12:25to be taken from her. Her past life, her
1:12:28husband, her kids, everything is about
1:12:31to come tumbling down. Again, the
1:12:34striking hypocrisy in Sherri's outward
1:12:36behavior and how she tries to come
1:12:37across as a good, moral, and righteous
1:12:40person versus who she is behind the
1:12:42curtains, a lying, manipulative,
1:12:45unfaithful sociopath is noteworthy, to
1:12:47put it lightly. Earlier in the
1:12:49interview, Keith had said jokingly,
1:12:51"She's the worst." Never have truer
1:12:54words been spoken.
1:12:57On your On your cell phone,
1:12:59or another cell phone?
1:13:00My work cell phone. My work cell phone.
1:13:03I don't
1:13:04want to leave my husband. I don't want
1:13:06to leave my husband. This is more like
1:13:08just a flirt?
1:13:11What's your work cell phone number?
1:13:14My work.
1:13:15What's that?
1:13:16I don't remember.
1:13:22How long were you guys talking?
1:13:25I don't know.
1:13:28Why would he have Why would he rent a
1:13:30car and come and get you? I don't know.
1:13:34Well, if you don't know that, why would
1:13:35you get in the car and and go down to
1:13:37Costa Mesa?
1:13:41Those are all things we can verify,
1:13:43Sherri.
1:13:44The car rental,
1:13:45the fuel, the mileage,
1:13:48the calls from you to him, the burner
1:13:51phone, all that can be proven.
1:13:55I don't think you're a horrible person,
1:13:57Sherri. I think things went a little
1:13:58sideways on you. I I mean, we started
1:14:00this conversation knew what this was
1:14:02going to turn into.
1:14:04I didn't know that I'd have people
1:14:06standing on boxes in front of my office.
1:14:08That Keith would be on 20/20.
1:14:11I don't love my husband.
1:14:13I don't want my children
1:14:14to face
1:14:15stupid
1:14:17things for talking to other guys.
1:14:19But why did Why did James come and get
1:14:22you?
1:14:23You know you guys were talking.
1:14:25I know you've said in the past that
1:14:27Keith has hurt you to other friends.
1:14:30Why tell them those details if that
1:14:31stuff's not true? It's one thing to
1:14:33talk.
1:14:35It's one thing to talk. It's another
1:14:37thing to to say abuse is occurring
1:14:39occurring.
1:14:41Everybody I talked to about James said
1:14:43he's the nicest person in the whole
1:14:45world. Yeah, he may be a hockey player,
1:14:47but he is the nicest person in the
1:14:49world. He's nice to a fault.
1:14:54I don't I I know lots of people. I don't
1:14:56know anybody I'd rent a car for and
1:14:58drive 9 hours for.
1:15:00Keith
1:15:01James did that for you.
1:15:06He thought he was helping you. He never
1:15:08asked you why. He never questioned
1:15:10anything. He never put more money on the
1:15:12line. He never asked for anything.
1:15:15He didn't ask for sexual relations. He
1:15:17didn't ask for a relationship after you.
1:15:20He didn't ask for anything.
1:15:22He's never even talked to you since.
1:15:26And yet, he stayed quiet until now.
1:15:28And the only reason why he talked is
1:15:30because we have his DNA.
1:15:32That's the only reason why we got to his
1:15:34door. That's the only thing that led us
1:15:36to his closet. That's the only thing
1:15:37that led us to the bathroom that's
1:15:39goofy.
1:15:41That's the only reason why you started
1:15:43talking to us.
1:15:44Once we showed him Once he showed us the
1:15:46bedroom, and we started pointing out the
1:15:48holes in the wall like, "You used to
1:15:50have this boarded up, huh?" And he said,
1:15:51"Yeah."
1:15:53Sherri asked me to pull boards out.
1:15:59There's Nobody's ever going to be asked
1:16:01be able to answer why decisions were
1:16:03made.
1:16:04I think I betrayed James. I don't
1:16:06understand.
1:16:08You don't understand what?
1:16:14What What parts are you not
1:16:15understanding?
1:16:16he even showed us, Sherri.
1:16:18He even showed us the letters that were
1:16:20used for the brand and the numbers.
1:16:23I have pictures of them right here.
1:16:27What is that that was used What did the
1:16:29Bible verse mean to you? How would he
1:16:30have known that?
1:16:34Why did you pick that Bible verse?
1:16:39For a brief moment, the investigators
1:16:40use a rapid-fire overloading tactic,
1:16:43sending very hard questions Sherri's way
1:16:45that require completely separate
1:16:46answers. Asking difficult questions that
1:16:49would only be asked to a guilty person
1:16:51in fast succession increases the stress
1:16:53on suspects, giving them no time to come
1:16:55up with an answer, and giving the
1:16:57impression that they have no escape,
1:16:59which in Sherri's case is actually true.
1:17:11James picked the Bible verse.
1:17:26We need to be able to control the
1:17:27outcome and what's going to happen next.
1:17:30The only thing we know is going to
1:17:31happen right now is what you can tell us
1:17:34and what you can shed light on,
1:17:36and for other people to be able to
1:17:40to try to understand.
1:17:42If it was a mistake, it was a mistake.
1:17:45But at this point,
1:17:46not telling us what happened, not
1:17:49telling us the truth, is another
1:17:50mistake. It's a mistake on top of a
1:17:52mistake.
1:17:54Right now, we can start over.
1:17:57We can We can end We can leave without
1:18:00without a dirty conscience, without
1:18:02knowing what's going to happen next.
1:18:04Deep down inside, Sherri, I know you
1:18:06know what's right and what you should
1:18:08do.
1:18:09And she got clean.
1:18:15The final olive branch has been extended
1:18:17to Sherri. She has been in control of
1:18:19the narrative for the last 4 years, and
1:18:21she's given a chance to explain her side
1:18:23before everything explodes. Sherri has
1:18:25to decide, right here and right now, how
1:18:28the rest of the story is going to go.
1:18:32Why did you ask James to come and get
1:18:34you?
1:18:44You asked Jonathan the night before to
1:18:46come and meet up with you.
1:18:48Everything happened at once.
1:18:51You were asking to
1:18:53stupid thing to do. You understand that
1:18:55is we were able to prove the diamond
1:18:57never came up here.
1:18:59But now we can prove that James did.
1:19:01We have the records to prove it.
1:19:06Well, you might not think it was a good
1:19:09idea now, 20/20 hindsight.
1:19:11At the time,
1:19:13why did you ask him to come pick you up?
1:19:21Was that an don't know.
1:19:29What's that?
1:19:31Help me, James.
1:19:34Sherri has chosen her fate and opts to
1:19:36stick to what's worked for the last 4
1:19:37years despite being shown evidence
1:19:40otherwise. The tide has turned and as
1:19:43captain of her ship of deceit, she has
1:19:45opted to drown with it. It is James.
1:19:49Sherri, the DNA doesn't lie.
1:19:52His DNA was on you.
1:19:56Your DNA is going to be in that room.
1:19:58One in septillion for James. I don't
1:20:01even know how many zeros septillion is.
1:20:03We ought to do That's why despite your
1:20:05description of how far you would have
1:20:06gone in the car,
1:20:08we already went down there. We knocked
1:20:10on his door.
1:20:12I took those pictures.
1:20:18He understood that the DNA didn't lie.
1:20:21So, he came clean.
1:20:23Now's your chance to do the same.
1:20:26And if you don't, you're going to be
1:20:27shaking your head later and say I should
1:20:29have told you what happened.
1:20:32Don't talk to me like that.
1:20:35Like what?
1:20:39Just like how Sherri snapped at Keith
1:20:41during their quick moment earlier,
1:20:42Sherri snaps again when her desperate
1:20:44lies fall on deaf ears. This time
1:20:46though, she does it to a federal
1:20:48investigator. A federal investigator who
1:20:50for the last 4 years was working closely
1:20:53with her to resolve her case. Sherri is
1:20:56truly a despicable person.
1:21:01There's so many fears right now that we
1:21:02can't even wrap our head around it.
1:21:05There's there's too many unknowns that
1:21:07we can't control.
1:21:09We can't control what what the media is
1:21:11going to do.
1:21:13We can't control
1:21:14what
1:21:16what everybody's going to think.
1:21:18The only thing we can control right now
1:21:20is to control that
1:21:22that James tells the truth and that's
1:21:24that's a yes or a no.
1:21:30What did James lie about? What did James
1:21:32lie to us about?
1:21:35Of the thing of the things I've told
1:21:37know anything.
1:21:39I don't know.
1:21:41I just don't know. There's just no way.
1:21:44Help me, James. I just don't know. I
1:21:47don't know what
1:21:48It is James. That's not even a question
1:21:50anymore.
1:21:51We know you were in that room. That's
1:21:52already
1:21:54clear.
1:21:55You you described everything in the
1:21:57room.
1:21:59What you're saying is it wasn't James
1:22:01that came and picked you up by the
1:22:02mailboxes.
1:22:03Is that what you're saying?
1:22:06There was still two females?
1:22:12Is that what you're saying, Sherri?
1:22:13Yeah.
1:22:20At the at the end of everything,
1:22:23once we you had to have known that this
1:22:25was going to come at some point.
1:22:27I was talking to
1:22:29my mom.
1:22:31What's that?
1:22:32This is all my fault. I was talking to
1:22:35my guys. Well, we know you
1:22:37I just stupid thing to do.
1:22:40Yeah, but then how did we get to this
1:22:42Costa Rica or Costa Mesa? Where are we
1:22:46How do we get to LA?
1:22:48There's a big jump and a leap from
1:22:50talking to men
1:22:52to
1:22:53getting in a car with somebody. But that
1:22:55getting in a car with somebody is
1:22:57somebody you had a relationship with.
1:23:00He told us about the abortion. He told
1:23:02us about that you guys' relationship.
1:23:06He told us about things that I don't
1:23:07know if you've ever told anybody about.
1:23:11He told us so many things.
1:23:14And he did it all for you.
1:23:16Nobody else. He got nothing out of this.
1:23:19And you're welcome to go home, Sherri.
1:23:21But right now is your opportunity to
1:23:22tell us the truth.
1:23:24And
1:23:27Help me.
1:23:33What are you saying that it was two
1:23:34females that picked you up?
1:23:38What's that?
1:23:42Every time I ask that question, seems
1:23:44like you don't answer it.
1:23:49You sat in the room and drew out two
1:23:51people on a sketch sheet.
1:23:53Were those two people the ones that took
1:23:54you? That's a yes or no.
1:23:56I don't know. Well, you were pretty
1:23:59clear when I asked you earlier what did
1:24:01what did the younger one do? You said
1:24:02the younger one pointed a gun at you.
1:24:10It wasn't. It was just James.
1:24:12Help me. James was three hours late. We
1:24:15have the rental records 2016 for the
1:24:18vehicle that he
1:24:19used. Why?
1:24:22Because we went to look for it because
1:24:23you told me
1:24:26Wait, that's clear. You're talking to I
1:24:28don't
1:24:29my fault because I was talking to him. I
1:24:32just this can't. We have to control what
1:24:34we can control.
1:24:38Are you We're to the point that two that
1:24:40if the younger female that you've always
1:24:42described, is she the one that put a
1:24:44pointed gun at you? Is that true or not?
1:24:48I don't
1:24:49know.
1:24:50You you do know. You told me earlier.
1:24:52So, earlier today when we were talking,
1:24:55I asked you what did the younger one do?
1:24:57You told me the younger one pointed a
1:24:58gun at you
1:24:59and let you go.
1:25:01Sherri has completely shut down. Now,
1:25:04when she's asked about the story that
1:25:05she's repeated for years or the new tale
1:25:08of the younger female of the two
1:25:09suspects pointing a gun at her and if
1:25:11it's true, Sherri says that she doesn't
1:25:14know. What was a fact only 40 minutes
1:25:16ago is now an uncertainty. Her ship is
1:25:20now completely sunk into the cold waters
1:25:22of justice.
1:25:23That's what you said. She let me go.
1:25:26Yeah, you let yourself go.
1:25:28You let yourself out of the backseat.
1:25:30Never even said bye to James.
1:25:32Never a thank you, never a nothing. Just
1:25:34an out. No. Yeah, that's what James told
1:25:37me. Until you can start telling me that
1:25:39James is a liar and start pointing
1:25:41things out. James passed a polygraph.
1:25:44This is my fault.
1:25:46My fault that I was talking to him. My
1:25:49fault that I was flirting with other
1:25:50men. It was just a
1:25:52stupid thing to do. I love
1:25:55my husband. Sherri, what happened? I
1:25:57love my children. That's understandable.
1:25:59Here's the deal though, Sherri. Flirting
1:26:01with other men not a crime.
1:26:05Lying to me today,
1:26:07yes, a crime.
1:26:10Big difference.
1:26:11Telling your story of what happened to
1:26:13you isn't a crime. And I know you're
1:26:15scared of what Keith is going to say and
1:26:16do, what's going to happen with you and
1:26:18your family. Those are real concerns.
1:26:21But we also need to understand the
1:26:23truth.
1:26:26And you're in the best position to give
1:26:28us that.
1:26:30You keep saying that it can't be him.
1:26:31The DNA doesn't lie. It's him. You were
1:26:34talking to
1:26:34And now's the opportunity for you to
1:26:36tell us.
1:26:40And we talked
1:26:45Okay. He said he didn't want her to get
1:26:46caught. when her brother died. For sure.
1:26:49And I'm excited.
1:26:51The problem we have
1:26:52is the actions after the talking, after
1:26:55the flirting.
1:26:57There was a big difference between
1:26:58talking on the phone and getting in a
1:26:59car with somebody.
1:27:01So, are are you saying that James got
1:27:03two females to to kidnap you?
1:27:07Is that what you're trying to say?
1:27:11What do you mean you don't know?
1:27:12So, if James' DNA is on you,
1:27:16are you So, either either we're still
1:27:18saying the younger girl pointed a gun at
1:27:19you
1:27:20or we're saying we don't know.
1:27:23You've already told me that today that a
1:27:25younger girl pointed a gun at He said he
1:27:26didn't want her to get caught. So, we're
1:27:28still talking to the female that let you
1:27:30go?
1:27:35That's where we're at.
1:27:38And and I don't know doesn't add clarity
1:27:41on simple questions, Sherri.
1:27:44A very a very easy question.
1:27:49Did James pick you up?
1:27:52You told me earlier that a girl pointed
1:27:54a gun at you. Is that Is that
1:27:56detail which one's true? It's only one.
1:27:59Only one of those are true, Sherri.
1:28:03You told both of them. I've told one,
1:28:05you told the other.
1:28:06Which one's true?
1:28:15Does James need to go to jail for all
1:28:16the stuff
1:28:18that you asked him to do?
1:28:26Nobody asked for this.
1:28:28No, nobody asked for this.
1:28:31I Sherri, I believe
1:28:34nobody asked for this.
1:28:36Nobody asked for ABC News to park out in
1:28:38your driveway. There was no way you
1:28:39could have predicted that this was going
1:28:41to blow up and to be as big as it was.
1:28:45Not even God thought it was going to
1:28:46turn into this big. Even when he first
1:28:48got the call, he didn't think that CNN
1:28:50and ABC and everybody was going to care.
1:28:52I'm going to find Sherri in a couple
1:28:53days cuz I I found Donovan. I found I
1:28:56found the people you were some of the
1:28:57people you were talking to. I've never
1:28:59known about your work cell phone.
1:29:00Stupid.
1:29:02But but we're beyond we're beyond that
1:29:05small discretion.
1:29:07We've talked about that discretion.
1:29:09We've talked about Donovan.
1:29:11Right? Remember?
1:29:14We talked about Donovan.
1:29:16Excuse me, please.
1:29:18Who picked you up? Was it James or was
1:29:20it a female that pointed a gun at you?
1:29:22Can you please answer that?
1:29:26You're shaking your head now. I will not
1:29:28get
1:29:29I'm not I'm not talking to you about
1:29:31that. I'm I'm not going to get anybody
1:29:33in trouble. I've told you before I do
1:29:35not want anyone to get in trouble. Well,
1:29:38you're going to get yourself in trouble
1:29:39at this point. That's where we're at.
1:29:42So, either either James picked you
1:29:43anything wrong. I know you didn't do
1:29:44anything wrong. But, right now you're
1:29:46not telling the truth which is doing
1:29:47something wrong.
1:29:49That's where we're at.
1:29:50James put himself on a polygraph.
1:29:53Talked to FBI agents. He talked with
1:29:55Peter and I for 6 hours.
1:29:57Damn it.
1:29:59He told us everything, Sherri.
1:30:02You told us so many truths because you
1:30:05put yourself through
1:30:07True. They weren't true. You're
1:30:09absolutely right.
1:30:09want to talk about the woman.
1:30:12Sherri doesn't want to talk about the
1:30:14women that she talked about for the last
1:30:164 years or repeat her claims from less
1:30:18than an hour ago. Sherri went from being
1:30:20crystal clear on the younger suspect
1:30:22pointing a gun at her to now having no
1:30:25idea.
1:30:26Further down the water she goes.
1:30:29So, both the the woman
1:30:31You're saying that it's James. No, I'm
1:30:34we're saying James' DNA was on you. We
1:30:36know you were you were in that room at
1:30:39his house. Then it goes
1:30:41to the woman. Then it goes
1:30:43to the woman. Okay, the both the woman
1:30:46that the woman put
1:30:47a pointed gun at you and put you in the
1:30:49car, yes or no?
1:30:50Is that where we're at?
1:30:55I don't remember. You don't remember if
1:30:57a female pointed a gun at you and put
1:30:59you in the car? Is that what you're
1:31:00saying, Sherri?
1:31:00I've always told you I don't remember
1:31:03getting in the car. I've always told you
1:31:05I don't remember getting in the car.
1:31:07But, did a female point a gun at you,
1:31:09yes or no?
1:31:15I don't remember.
1:31:16Yes or no?
1:31:18Is that I don't remember thing? You've
1:31:19already told me that today.
1:31:21You know who she is. I know you do. It
1:31:24was always Keith.
1:31:25who she is. Yeah, the lady we showed you
1:31:27is the another rate.
1:31:31No, I know James opened the door for
1:31:33you.
1:31:34Whether you want to forget how you got
1:31:36in the car, I'm I'm okay with that.
1:31:38But, we've already you've already
1:31:39established today, that's why I asked
1:31:41you today
1:31:43what did the younger girl do?
1:31:45You said she let me go and she pointed a
1:31:47gun at me.
1:31:48We didn't talk about how you got in the
1:31:49car. Right now, I'm asking you.
1:31:52Did a younger female point a gun at you,
1:31:54yes or no?
1:31:58What?
1:32:03I know you know who she is. I'm not
1:32:07saying it. I don't want her to get in
1:32:08trouble. She's not going to You know you
1:32:10know who she is. You're getting in
1:32:11trouble. I am not.
1:32:13I didn't do
1:32:14anything. But, right now ask answer this
1:32:17one question.
1:32:18Did a female point a gun at you, yes or
1:32:20no? I am done speaking to you until I
1:32:23talk to a lawyer. I will not arrest her.
1:32:25I am
1:32:27with my children because of her.
1:32:30Sherri does the second smart thing that
1:32:32she's done since the interview began and
1:32:34she firmly says that she will not speak
1:32:36anymore without a lawyer. The
1:32:38investigators immediately end the
1:32:39interview and escort Sherri out, but the
1:32:42damage is already done.
1:32:45From this point, Sherri
1:32:46I don't understand.
1:32:50There is no way that it's James. He
1:32:52loves me. He did love you. I agree.
1:32:57Sherri, if you want to talk to your
1:32:58attorney, that's fine. We can wrap this
1:32:59up. If you want to keep talking to us,
1:33:02that's a separate story, but you said
1:33:03you wanted to talk to your attorney, so
1:33:05I guess from the beginning you're free
1:33:07to go and you can go. I would ask you
1:33:10one more question just for your own
1:33:12welfare.
1:33:13Do you feel like harming yourself? My
1:33:15own welfare. Do you feel like harming
1:33:17yourself? I want
1:33:19to hug my children and go home. Okay.
1:33:24Well, you're free to go and do that.
1:33:32If you change your mind and you want to
1:33:33come forward and talk to us There is no
1:33:36way
1:33:36because I talked to other men. It cannot
1:33:39be.
1:33:48As the threat to Sherri leaves the room,
1:33:50which in this case is the detectives,
1:33:52she is immediately able to sit upright,
1:33:55stop crying, and speak clearly.
1:33:57It's almost as if she was putting on an
1:33:59act just like she was for the last 4
1:34:02years and just like she was for her
1:34:04entire life hiding the truly despicable
1:34:06person that she is behind the public
1:34:08mask of honorability and meekness. The
1:34:11detectives find Keith and bring him back
1:34:13in to finish the interview.
1:34:16You might have come in to sit and talk
1:34:17with Sherri.
1:34:26Where is my husband?
1:34:27I don't know. We're going to find out.
1:34:35Man.
1:34:37I'm the idiot husband that stayed around
1:34:38the whole time. Well, there's not
1:34:41It's still we can't tell you a lot,
1:34:43honestly. I don't know what I told
1:34:45Sherri we'd let you know.
1:34:47Some of the details, some of the stuff
1:34:48going on. To me, I mean from my side I
1:34:51feel like you know, my whole world's
1:34:52going to flipped upside down again. What
1:34:54why is it why am I always getting held
1:34:56out of it? Like why can't you just
1:34:58hit me with it?
1:34:59I did. I told I know, yeah. Cuz this
1:35:01happened Monday.
1:35:03Or No, you're saying you can't tell me
1:35:04all this stuff. Uh It's still an ongoing
1:35:06investigation, so
1:35:09you're not going to find out any
1:35:09answers. I mean, there's
1:35:11That's the way it is.
1:35:13Can you help me and tell me we're going
1:35:15down and then go maybe she made it up?
1:35:16Is that where we're going, right? Or is
1:35:17she trying to come up with a whole
1:35:18another We're not going to give you any
1:35:20additional details. Obviously, you've
1:35:21heard the questions, so you can read
1:35:23through some of those and understand.
1:35:25You've seen some of the photos. So, you
1:35:27know some of the investigative work
1:35:28we've done.
1:35:30And we did. Yeah. But, you can also
1:35:32notice your reaction compared to her
1:35:33reaction. Yeah. No, 100%. That's what
1:35:36I'm saying from my side, but now now
1:35:37you're telling me okay, you guys can go
1:35:39home now. Well, do you think I want her
1:35:41anywhere around my kids or around me at
1:35:43all at this point? Again, we've talked a
1:35:45lot. I don't know what the next stages
1:35:47of this are. That's why It's not us
1:35:48together, right? That one.
1:35:50Whatever whatever those decisions are, I
1:35:52don't know. But, from a we can all agree
1:35:56that she's not all there then obviously
1:35:58if somebody can do something like that
1:35:59to their body and try to trick everybody
1:36:01that they're probably not fit to It was
1:36:024 years ago.
1:36:04We can't get into that, but I would say
1:36:06obviously we are concerned about the
1:36:07welfare. We don't want any kind of
1:36:10domestic dispute between you two.
1:36:12We also don't want
1:36:13So, give me a quick legal non-legal
1:36:15advice. Give me a call
1:36:16Sherri. If I don't want her in my house
1:36:19tonight, what options do I have?
1:36:21You got to get a restraining order. You
1:36:23got to get
1:36:24that legal stuff.
1:36:27Jesus.
1:36:28I'm not going to I'm going to tell her
1:36:29she has to go to her sister's or
1:36:30something. I mean, she's not going to my
1:36:32house tonight and I got to call
1:36:34the next stage of this.
1:36:36Please give me the courtesy of telling
1:36:37me when you're going to announce this so
1:36:39I cannot be at my home Probably tonight.
1:36:41Oh god damn it, going quick.
1:36:44Well, I thought you said tomorrow I'm
1:36:45going now. Well, we have to We didn't
1:36:46talk about that, but
1:36:48it's going to happen quick. I
1:36:49understand. He was thinking tomorrow. I
1:36:51was like okay, well We got to notify
1:36:52everybody in LA, so there's a there's a
1:36:54hornet's nest in LA. It only takes one
1:36:57person to go and then say hey, I know
1:36:58what actually happened. I want 10 grand
1:37:01and now they run to LA news.
1:37:04It blows up without our control.
1:37:06So, and I don't know the strategy. We we
1:37:08still have to have We had to get through
1:37:10this before we can get there.
1:37:13This Did Is there anything you can tell
1:37:15me now cuz I thought you were saying you
1:37:16were going to tell me something when I
1:37:17came back in my car? We
1:37:20The person that we talked to down there
1:37:22is absolutely involved. No, I know that.
1:37:24I know that. I already gave you guys
1:37:26that guy's number, so
1:37:27I thought I thought
1:37:29So, that's that's where we're at.
1:37:32Um
1:37:32And then what she said?
1:37:34We're just asking you to be patient. Let
1:37:36it play out. I know it's going to be
1:37:37really hard, but it also makes it easier
1:37:39for you.
1:37:40But, the little kids aren't going to ask
1:37:41you as much as the media will. No, I
1:37:43know. And the family members, your own
1:37:44family members. No. And you can look
1:37:45them in the straight face and say look,
1:37:47they're not telling me yet.
1:37:48But, like
1:37:49you know, I'm pedaling right now. I was
1:37:50like well, [ __ ] You guys can give it to
1:37:52her right now at the house. I don't even
1:37:52want her in my car right now. I don't
1:37:54know what Keith will say. That's what he
1:37:55told me.
1:37:56What will Keith will say? I'm going to
1:37:58have to make arrangements for her to get
1:37:59there if that has to happen. Cuz I need
1:38:01I need to make some phone If anything,
1:38:02if you're going to release it that soon,
1:38:03I'd like to call him.
1:38:04I don't know if that's going to happen.
1:38:05I can call you today.
1:38:07I'm going to go from this to another
1:38:08meeting and that meeting will lead to
1:38:10another meeting and that meeting will
1:38:11lead to another meeting.
1:38:12And then
1:38:13then we'll be figuring stuff out.
1:38:15But, you're saying you want us to help
1:38:16you with transport for her? I don't
1:38:18think so. I don't think I I mean, I you
1:38:19got to give me a couple I thought you
1:38:20guys were going to call me back in here
1:38:21with her. Well, she has to leave, so
1:38:24Okay. She's free to leave if she wants
1:38:25to. So, I think we'll
1:38:27talk and I'm going to
1:38:29we'll probably
1:38:31She's probably not going to talk in
1:38:31here, so probably go out to the car and
1:38:33then I'll be like I'm not going anywhere
1:38:34with you until If you guys want to talk
1:38:35down in the car and then come back up
1:38:37and tell us what you need assistance
1:38:39Yeah. Let us know. I appreciate that.
1:38:43I think I'm handling it pretty good. I
1:38:44ain't punching walls
1:38:45We we appreciate that. I'm in shock.
1:38:49Okay.
1:38:51All right.
1:38:58Since Sherri wasn't under arrest, she
1:39:00was free to leave. Keith, of course, was
1:39:02also able to leave. It's unclear what
1:39:05happened between the couple immediately
1:39:06after, but what is clear is the eventual
1:39:09aftermath.
1:39:10Almost a year and a half after this
1:39:12questioning, on March 3rd, 2022, Sherri
1:39:15was arrested on charges of making false
1:39:17statements to federal law enforcement
1:39:19officers and for mail fraud. Papini was
1:39:22charged with mail fraud as she had
1:39:23received over $30,000 from the
1:39:26California Victims Compensation Board
1:39:28between 2017 and 2021.
1:39:32One week later, on March 9th, 2022,
1:39:35Sherri was released from jail before her
1:39:37trial on a $120,000 bond and after
1:39:40surrendering her passport.
1:39:42She and her lawyer had no comment on the
1:39:44allegations against her.
1:39:46Papini had faced up to 25 years in
1:39:48prison between the charges of mail fraud
1:39:50and for lying to a federal officer. On
1:39:53April 18th, 2022, 6 weeks after her
1:39:56initial arrest, Sherri signed a deal
1:39:58with prosecutors via Zoom, admitting
1:40:00that she had orchestrated the hoax.
1:40:03Keith and Sherri remained married until
1:40:052 days after Sherri's plea deal. On
1:40:07April 20th, 2022,
1:40:09Keith Papini filed for divorce, citing
1:40:12irreconcilable differences after their
1:40:1412-year marriage.
1:40:15Keith requested full custody of their
1:40:17now 9-year-old and 7-year-old daughter,
1:40:19and he asked the court to allow
1:40:21visitation with their mom only with his
1:40:23approval and with supervision. Even
1:40:25after everything had initially come to
1:40:27light, Keith remained by Sherri's side
1:40:29until there was an absolute zero chance
1:40:31that she was telling the truth.
1:40:33According to court records, the divorce
1:40:35is scheduled to be finalized on October
1:40:3731st, 2022.
1:40:40In September 2022, Sherri Papini was
1:40:43sentenced to 18 months in prison and
1:40:45fined $300,000.
1:40:47At the time of this video, Sherri Papini
1:40:50is currently incarcerated at the Shasta
1:40:51County Jail in Redding, California,
1:40:54awaiting her transfer to a California
1:40:55State Correctional Institution, where
1:40:58she will remain for the rest of her
1:41:00sentence.

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